Are you having difficulty getting started on your college essay? If so, then you're not alone. Writing a college essay can be a daunting task, especially if you're not sure where to start. Don't let the stress of writer's block keep you from achieving your academic goals. In this blog post, we'll discuss five college essay brainstorming strategies to help you get started. We'll cover [creative college writing prompts ideas](https://paraphrasetool.com/blog/creative-college-writing-prompts-ideas-inspire), as well as expert college essay writers for hire. With these strategies, you'll be able to start writing your college essay in no time.

Brainstorming Ideas - What to Think About

Brainstorming ideas can be a great way to come up with topics or ideas to write about. It can also help you to think outside the box and come up with unique perspectives that you might not have thought of before. When brainstorming, it can help to ask yourself questions such as: What do I want to say? What is the main point I want to make? What are some possible solutions to the problem I am trying to solve?

Identifying the Key Points of Your Story

Once you have brainstormed some ideas, it is important to identify the key points of your story. This will help you to focus your writing and ensure that you stay on track. Consider what the main characters are doing, the main themes, and any other important elements that need to be included.

Crafting the Outline - Organizing Your Essay

Once you have identified the key points of your story, it is important to craft an outline so that you can organize your essay effectively. This will allow you to easily keep track of the flow of your story and ensure that your essay has a logical structure.

Utilizing Writing Prompts to Get Started

Writing prompts can be a great way to get started with your essay. They can help to spark creativity and provide you with a starting point to begin writing. Consider using a variety of writing prompts to get the creative juices flowing and help you to start writing.

Drawing Inspiration from Other Sources

Finally, it can be helpful to draw inspiration from other sources such as books, articles, or other essays. This can help to give you ideas for how to structure your essay and provide you with inspiration for the content that you are writing. Below we answer common questions writers have about these topics.

1. Brainstorming Ideas - What to Think About

What is the purpose of this project?

The primary goal of an effective writer should be to make their audience feel something. Whether that's happiness, sadness, or anything in between, a writer should be able to evoke an emotional response from their audience. Every other goal should be in service of that one. So, when answering the question, "What is the purpose of this project?" A great writer should be able to answer, "To make people feel something."

What unique elements can I bring to this project?

Every writer needs to be able to bring something unique to the table. It could be your style, your voice, or even just your knowledge of a certain subject. When answering this question, it's important to think about what makes you different from the other writers who might be applying for the same position.

2. Identifying the Key Points of Your Story

What is the central conflict of your story?

Every story has three different stages: the setup, where the conflict is introduced, the rising action, where the conflict starts to escalate, and the climax, where the conflict is resolved. The central conflict of a story is usually the one that's driving the story forward and pushing the characters to make decisions that will affect the rest of the story.

What are the most important elements of your story that need to be included in the plot?

There are many elements that make a story come to life and they are all equally important in making a story work. It's up to the writer to decide which elements to include and which to exclude. Of course, you have to have a story. But if your story is about a girl who wants to find a boy to love her, then you have to make sure that boy is in the story.

A story is not a story without the boy. A story is not a story without at least some of the girl's struggles. A story is not a story without a beginning, a middle and an end. All of these elements are equally important, and you need to find the balance that makes your story work.

3. Crafting the Outline - Organizing Your Essay

What main points do you want to make in your essay?

As a writer, you want to ensure that you are writing about a topic that you know about, not that you can find the most information about. This is one of the first things that our writers learn when they start writing professionally. You want to write about something that you have experienced or can at least explain in detail. If you are writing about something that you do not understand, it is not going to come off as authentic in your writing.

What structure will you use to organize your essay (e.g. chronological, argumentative, compare/contrast, etc.)?

One of the keys to answering this question is to remember that the prompt is asking about the essay you're writing for this prompt. So, don't get too caught up in making sure your essay has the right structure for your entire academic career. Instead, focus on the prompt and the essay you're being asked to write for it.

If you're writing an argumentative essay, think about the argument you're making. If you're writing a compare-and-contrast essay, think about the two things you're comparing and contrasting. The key is to have a clear plan for your essay that's easy to explain to the grader.

4. Utilizing Writing Prompts to Get Started

How can writing prompts help me to get started on my writing project?

There is no perfect answer to this question, however, if you are struggling with getting started on a writing project, consider the following: Start with a sentence. A lot of writers struggle with not knowing what to write. A writing prompt can help you by providing a starting point. Whether you're writing fiction or nonfiction, a writing prompt can help you find the right words or ideas to start your piece.

How can I use writing prompts to develop my ideas and create a more cohesive narrative?

By and large, writing prompts are intended for non-fiction writers. Even if you use a fiction writing prompt, you should still write the non-fictional answer. For example, if the writing prompt is to write a description of an imaginary island, you could do that as the background for a fictional character's escape from the mainland. The bottom line is, don't let the fact that the writing prompt is fictional fool you into thinking you can get away with providing a fictional answer. The goal of a writing prompt is to inspire you to develop your ideas more coherently. That will always be a non-fictional process.

5. Drawing Inspiration from Other Sources

What are some of your favorite sources for creative inspiration?

I'm a big reader. When I'm looking for inspiration, I like to find books from people who are my target market. I'm looking for books that have a similar vibe to what I'm doing, so I head to Amazon and do some research. I look for books that rank well for keywords that relate to what I'm doing. I'm not looking to copy the exact book, but to find some inspiration as to what's working right now. This can give me some ideas of what to write about and maybe how to write about it.

How do you apply the ideas you find in other sources to your own work?

It's an important question for a writer to ask themselves because it can be easy to get caught up in a desire to replicate the work of others. Being a writer means being a creative individual, and having your own voice is essential. To effectively answer this question, take the time to think about how you can make others' ideas your own. For example, if you were to read an interesting article about the history of a particular aspect of a topic you write about, you could write a unique article about the topic from a different perspective.

Writing is an art, and there is no one right way to do it. Brainstorming ideas, identifying the key points of your story, crafting the outline, utilizing writing prompts, and drawing inspiration from other sources are just a few of the steps that can help you create an essay or story. With these tips in mind, you can start writing and create a piece that truly expresses your views and experiences. So don't be afraid to take the plunge and start writing today.